128 million animals received quality veterinary care (124M chickens, 4M cows) ensuring healthier animals and producing safe food. In 2017, at the beginning of the program, only four products were commercially available in the region. The pre- vention of disease in poultry has been a key focus for the AL- PHA initiative. Zoetis has provided access to a broad portfolio of poultry vaccines, which it hopes will help to prevent dis- ease and reduce treatment, including the use of antibiotics in poultry farming.


2. Sustainable diagnostic infrastructure provision The company has made significant progress in establishing infrastructure and training to improve the state of animal health and productivity. Sixteen established serology labora- tories provide diagnostic services to farmers across Nigeria, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda. The laboratory network has been upgraded in cooperation with public and private local partners, and today it provides access across an important part of Zoetis’s continuum of care (diagnostics, prevention and treatment) even for smaller scale producers close to their homes in four countries. 3. Professional development and business training Since 2019, Zoetis experts have held a significant number of training sessions for local veterinary service providers, diag- nostic lab personnel and farmers in partnership with local au- thorities, associations and NGOs to increase the level of care and knowledge of disease management and veterinary care. To date, more than 26,000 farmers, veterinarians and veteri- narian paraprofessionals have been trained – of which around 30% are women – with an estimated extended reach of over 1.3M people through train-the-trainer programs.


Sustainability and gender Under the concept of sustainability in farming, there are many facets to consider – we can look at soil health, how feed is grown, the welfare of animals or management practices on-farm. But gender is an important factor here too. In many farming communities throughout the world, women are an essential part of the farm operation. A large majority of own- ers taking care of animals in smallholder farms in Sub-Saha- ran Africa are women. It is therefore important to highlight gender within sustainable livestock production, to ensure that all those who play a role in the farm operation are armed with know-how and trained in better animal production that will lead to improved farmer livelihood and tackle gender dis- parity. This initiative has addressed this issue. “As women play such an important role in the region’s smallholder farms, AL- PHA’s agenda included the roll-out out of training that en- sures gender balance and inclusion of women in all training to transform the livestock sector for wider societal impact. “While we currently achieve around a 40% participation rate of women, we are committed to aim for equal gender partici- pation in our educational programs,” states David. With equal gender a priority in the region, Zoetis highlights its support


to uphold the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is fundamentally part of this initiative’s journey in Africa.


Future outlook Currently there are partnerships in place with local veterinary universities – Makerere in Uganda, Nelson Mandela University in Nigeria – to monitor the prevalence and impact of diseases in animals in these markets, the company confirms. “One as- sumption is that climate change might impact the spread and prevalence of diseases in these regions, but we do not have data to share at this stage,” Glenn adds. And commenting on the future and what this will look like within this framework, he says, “We look to the future with optimism and having learnt a lot and gained immense experience which will help us to better serve our animal health stakeholders in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is, however, still a long way to go with our work in these emerging markets, and we have identified several strat- egies we could implement with key local partners. To quote an African proverb: ‘If you want to go fast – go alone; if you want to go far, go together.’ This reflects how we strongly value collaborative approaches to help serve the region.”


To date more than 26,000 farmers, veteri- narians and vet- erinarian para- professionals have been trained – of which around 30% are women.


A farmer tend- ing cattle out- side his home in Wondo Genet, Ethiopia.


▶ DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 9, No. 3, 2022


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